Robotic mission to Mars announced to pave way for first human space colony Mars One lander mission will provide information ahead of human settlers' planned landing on one-way ticket

A Dutch company that plans to send a crew of amateur astronauts on a one-way mission to Mars has lined up two major companies to work on a robotic mission to the planet.

Slated for launch in 2018, the Mars One mission aims to pave the way for the volunteer crew by testing technology they will need should they reach the red planet in good enough shape to start the first human space colony.

The US aerospace company, Lockheed Martin, which has worked on scores of Nasa missions, has agreed to draw up plans for a lander based on the US space agency's Phoenix probe that touched down on Mars in 2008.

The lander will launch with a communications satellite that will go into orbit over Mars and provide video and data links from the surface of the planet back to Earth. The UK company, Surrey Satellites (SSTL), has signed a contract to work on the communications probe.